If there was any question looming about how the state budget crisis will affect Boston, city councilors made the answer clear Monday by discussing not whether to make cuts, but where and by how much.
Council President Maureen Feeney said she is concerned about how the imminent budget cuts will affect Boston residents.
‘If there was ever a time that the city needs to be present to its citizens, it’s now,’ she said. ‘The sad part is we really don’t have answers for people at this point.’
Boston Chief Financial Officer Lisa Signori said there is not any concrete information on exactly what the city will lose due to the state’s budget cuts, but city financial planners are in the process of collecting data for government officials.
‘There were lots of cuts across the board that I don’t know the full impact of yet,’ Signori said. ‘Some earmarks to the city of Boston were completely eliminated.’
Signori said the city had been planning for an economic slowdown for some time, which will somewhat lessen the potential cuts to city services.
‘Those impacts spill over to us,’ Signori said. ‘We are fortunate that unlike other cities, we have not seen an impact on property tax collections.’
Property taxes supply 56 percent of the city’s revenue, but as the economy declines, state planners are expecting tax revenues from excise taxes like building permits to decrease, putting an additional strain on the budget, Signori said.
The City Council seemed mostly willing to accommodate Signori’s budget proposals.
‘What do you need from us?’ Councilor-At-Large Sam Yoon asked.
To maintain flexibility, the city will scrutinize expenses in an effort to streamline the budget by cutting any excess spending, council members said.
‘We are into the bone now,’ Feeney said.
Boston’s financial reserves, which were put in place to provide support in times of economic hardship, will help public services cope with the funding cut back, Signori said
Though there have been budget cuts to Boston public schools, the fire department and the police department, all the council members agreed to keep employees’ jobs safe.
‘Our city staffing levels are already lower throughout the city than they were in 2002,’ Feeney said.
There will be a public meeting about the issue today at City Hall.
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